Development of a pressure control system for brace treatment of scoliosis

Eric Chalmers, Edmond Lou, Doug Hill, Vicky H. Zhao, Man Sang Wong

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Bracing is a common nonsurgical treatment for scoliosis, but its effectiveness has been debated. Some clinical studies have shown efficacy of brace treatment is correlated to how the brace has been worn. The more often the patients wear their braces to the prescribed tightness as well as the prescribed length of wear each day, the better the treatment outcome. A system of four wireless pressure control devices was developed to understand brace wear-time and regulate a target pressure range at the brace-body interface. Each pressure control device could function independently and be embedded in the brace at key pressure areas. Such a system could improve the quality of brace wearmaking the treatment more effective and refining our understanding of the three-pressure-point brace treatment concept during daily activities. This paper reports the system development and validation. The system was tested on four healthy subjects for 2 h without pressure regulation and 2 h with regulation. The results show that the pressure regulation doubled the time spent in a desired pressure range on average (from 31% to 62%). Brace-wear time was logged correctly. The system was also validated through a seven-day continuous test, and a fully charged battery could run for 30 days without requiring recharge.
Original languageEnglish
Article number6183520
Pages (from-to)557-563
Number of pages7
JournalIEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
Volume20
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 17 Jul 2012

Keywords

  • Assistive technology
  • scoliosis
  • smart orthotic management
  • wearable computer

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • General Medicine

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